The Hanyou Under the Bridge
by Nicluv1787
Summary: A dangerous Hanyou lived under a bridge. This is a retelling of the classic fairytale 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'


A/N: This is an adaptation of the fairy tale collected by Hans Christian Anderson, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Originally written for the "**Bridge**" prompt at FirstTweak on Livejournal.

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Once upon a time there was a farmer. He was a happy and prosperous farmer who owned a patch land that had been owned by generations of his family. The farmer had a wife and three daughters, each of his daughters were beautiful and intelligent. But sadly none of his daughters could marry because their farm was secluded from the nearest village with only a single bridge leading over a river that surrounded the farm. This bridge was guarded by a fearsome Hanyou who would eat anyone who tried to cross. Many generations had tried to defeat the Hanyou yet none had succeeded.

The farmer watched as his daughters grew and approached marriageable age, becoming restless with each passing day. Each had great hopes for a future of their own, not on the families farm. One day the farmer's oldest daughter, Izayoi, came to him and said:

"Father I can no longer waste my beauty here on this tiny farm, I must find a suitable husband beyond my home, I'm going to cross the bridge to the nearest village."

The farmer begged his daughter to reconsider; assuring her someday a man would come along to marry her-somehow it always worked out that way-. His pleas fell on deaf ears. Izayoi packed her best Kimono and her few possessions and made the trek to the bridge.

It was a warm sunny afternoon when Izayoi reached the bridge. She looked around and saw no monstrous Hanyou blocking her path. She was sure all the tales of a fearsome Hanyou were just stories told to keep her and her sisters from leaving home. So she walked across the bridge with light feet. Half way across the bridge a growl echoed around her and Izayoi stopped out of fear.

"Who dares cross my bridge," the voice rumbled.

"My name is Izayoi," She said bravely, "I'm crossing this bridge to the next village to find a husband."

A flash of red appeared in the center of the bridge, and before Izayoi stood a menacing Hanyou with silver hair and golden eyes, he bared fangs his sharp fangs at her.

"I think not princess," he snarled, "Everyone who attempts to cross this bridge will become my dinner."

Izayoi was terrified, but she was a quick thinker and quickly formulated a plan.

"Please Hanyou-san, I'm much too beautiful to be eaten, if you ate me my sweet beauty would surely make you sick to your stomach."

"I don't mind indigestion," the Hanyou said menacingly.

"But what if there was a meal coming that would be much more satisfying?" Izayoi said sweetly.

"What do you mean?" The Hanyou said with gruff curiousity.

"I have a sister who will surely come this way once she sees me cross this bridge safely, and she is not nearly as pretty as myself and would taste much better."

The Hanyou thought about this for a moment before replying. It wasn't often that two women passed across his bridge, he could eat this woman and then eat the next one also, who knows when the next one would come, and he was hungry now. But while he was thinking Izayoi slipped passed him and across the bridge.

The Hanyou cursed his bad luck, but he knew the woman's words were true and soon another meal would be coming his way and he wouldn't let it pass him by a second time.

Just as Izayoi predicted the farmer's second daughter, Kikyo, saw Izayoi pass over the bridge unharmed and decided it was indeed safe for her to cross as well. She told her father of her plans:

"Father," She announced, "I plan to develop my spiritual powers and become a Miko, my older sister Izayoi has crossed the dreaded bridge safely, and so shall I."

The farmer pleaded with his daughter to reconsider, telling her that she didn't need to leave their farm to become a Miko. But she would hear none of it. Instead she packed up her things, put on the red and white of a Miko and marched down to the bridge. She wasn't two steps onto the bridge when the Hanyou pounced.

Unfortunately for the Hanyou Kikyo was skilled with a bow, she quickly drew her bow and an arrow and had an arrow pointed at the Hanyou's heart before he could move in for the kill.

"Who are you?" Kikyo demanded.

"I am the bridge's guardian Hanyou. I let your sister pass unharmed because she promised that you would be a much more appetizing dinner. So you have come as she promised and I plan to eat you. "

Kikyo was very clever like her sister and saw through her elder sister's ruse, and came up with one of her own.

"I'm sorry Hanyou-san but I'm no better to eat than my sister before me, you see I'm training to be a Miko. You can probably feel the spiritual power I emanate, if you were to eat me you'd surely die from purification."The Hanyou had to admit he could feel the crackle of energy that emanated from the woman, but he'd already let one woman pass him up he wasn't willingly going to let a second pass him by unscathed. "But I have a younger sister, who has no purification powers to speak of who will surely come this way if she sees that I pass by unharmed."

The Hanyou was wary to fall for that trick again but the spiritual energy the Miko in training exuded ended up being too much for him and the Hanyou let her pass.

Days passed and there was no sign of the third sister, the Hanyou started to wonder if he had indeed been duped by the crafty farmer's daughters. Then the day came as he slept beneath the bridge he called home, a creak of footsteps alerted him. He jumped from beneath the bridge to block the youngest sister's path.

"Who dares cross my bridge?" He snarled most imposingly.

A young woman looked at him hands on hips with a defiant glare. "My name is Kagome, I'm an aspiring adventurer, I saw my sisters cross this bridge without harm and I decided to leave my home to explore the world."

The Hanyou licked his lips dangerously, she was a fiery spirit, those were the most delicious, and on top of that she was neither too pretty nor coursing with spiritual power. In fact she was just perfect.

"Well your adventure ends here, I made a deal with your sisters to let them pass they each promised me a younger sister whom I could eat, and I know you are the youngest sister so I won't be tricked again." He said with finality, moving in for the kill, he wouldn't let her get away.

Kagome stood her ground, never once trying to run; instead she held up a hand to the Hanyou.

"You could eat me and be full for a day, or you could let me _cook _all your meals for you and you would never go hungry again."

The Hanyou stopped on his slow prowl towards his intended meal. This had to be a trick no one had ever offered to take care of him before.

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?"

"I promise if ever a day goes by that I don't cook for you can eat me," she said resolutely.

The Hanyou was puzzled by this young woman but reluctantly accepted her deal.

"Alright fine, be here every day, but never come near my bridge on the night of the new moon, or I'll eat you on the spot and the deal is off."

Kagome was confused by the strange addendum, but relieved to be escaping without being eaten.

"Deal" she said with a smile, then headed back towards the farm house, she paused at the edge of the bridge, "By the way," she said over her shoulder, "what's your name?"

Once again he was floored by the strangeness of this woman, and for a moment he couldn't think of words to say, it'd been centuries since he'd even thought of his name.

"My name is Inuyasha," he croaked out.

"Nice to meet you Inuyasha," she said with a little bow, "I'll be back with a meal for you tomorrow."

And so for many months Kagome returned to the bridge and brought with her a day's worth of meals for Inuyasha, the once believed to be fearsome Hanyou beneath the bridge. Summer faded to autumn and autumn turned to winter, and before Kagome knew it a year had passed. In the time they'd spent together Kagome learned to deal with the Hanyou's gruff mannerisms and short temper and he learned about how humans lived, and a little about being around other people for the first time in his long life. They had an easy camaraderie and Kagome started making adjustments to the meager living space Inuyasha had made for himself under the bridge. As time passed Kagome spent more and more time with Inuyasha and found it harder and harder to tear herself away from him. They'd made an odd, but strong connection between the two of them.

Then one day the sun was approaching the edge of horizon night would fall soon. Inuyasha looked to the falling sun and then to Kagome.

"You should go," he said gruffly looking from her to the setting sun.

Kagome looked up from her cook pot, "But your dinner is not finished yet."

"I don't want any tonight wench, the sun is setting go home to your family." With a gruff push he shoved her out from beneath his bridge and back on the shore of the river bank.

Kagome stared baffled for a few moments then headed back towards her home, along her path back the sun set completely on a moonless night. It was then that it hit her, Inuyasha had sent her home because it was the moonless night, not for the first time she wondered why Inuyasha fore bade her from seeing him on the moonless night. On this particular night curiosity seemed to overwhelm her and her feet moved without her bidding back towards the bridge.

She crept back down a small trail that led beneath the bridge, she peaked around a corner and what she saw surprised her. Instead of the silver haired Hanyou beneath the bridge sat an average man with violet eyes in his stead. He looked just like Inuyasha, but he couldn't be Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said with trepidation. The man whirled on her in a huff, it was Inuyasha.

"I told you never to come here on a moonless night, you broke your promise." He said bitterly.

He was right and Kagome felt guilty, but she was also hurt Inuyasha had been keeping secrets from her. If he had told her he was a human once a month she would have understood.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious, I didn't mean…" she fumbled over her words.

"Leave here, leave here and never return." Inuyasha said turning his back to her. He didn't shout, he didn't attack her, he was simple and cold.

"What about our deal? Aren't you going to eat me?" she wanted desperately for him to look at her so she could explain. Why was he being so cruel? It would have been better to be eaten than to have him ignore her she thought.

"No." was his simple response.

One word and it cut deeper than she thought possible. She ran from him tears brimming from her eyes, she ran up the path and over the bridge away from the farm and away from Inuyasha.

Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. Everyday Inuyasha regretted what he'd said to Kagome. She was the first person who'd cared about him, she taught him things, she been his only friend, he'd fallen in love with her. It was the only reason he hadn't killed her like he'd killed so many others. Kagome had changed him. After she left he no longer killed travelers as they passed over his bridge, he simply let them pass. His existence seemed to have lost all meaning without her. The world around him continued, but he seemed to slip into an endless sleep.

Then three years to the day of Kagome's disappearance he heard familiar steps on the bridge above, his heart soared and he leaped to the bridge to block their path. And there she was just like he remembered her. It was Kagome only she had a more worldly appearance, she wore a fine silk Kimono and her hair was pulled back in an elegant coif.

"You back?" he said looking away with disinterest.

"mm," she nodded not meeting his gaze.

Silence stretched out between them.

"Well, I'm going to eat you; I've been starving since you left."

The tension was broke and Kagome flew into his arms, "Inuyasha I've spent three years trying to find what I had with you all along. I'm sorry I abused your trust. I love you and I want to be with you always."

He held her close, and gave no reply because all he'd ever wanted was to be loved by her too.

Not long after that the two of them moved away from that bridge, and started a life all their own, but that is another story.

The End


End file.
